CHICAGO—Anyone who was in Arizona for the Western Conference finals between the Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings knows that hockey can work in Arizona. There are fans there, and those fans care as deeply about their team as fans of any Original Six team.

The problem in Arizona is not that hockey does not work. The problem is that the rink is in Glendale, which might as well be Mars. It was a stupid place to put a hockey arena in the first place, and the lease issues with the city that threaten the Coyotes' very existence only add to the boondoggle.

The New York Islanders are moving to Brooklyn. The Florida Panthers, playing in Sunrise, are the Eastern Conference's designated scratching post for attendance jokes. The Ottawa Senators, playing in what was Kanata before the city absorbed it, are the last Canadian team to play to less than 100% capacity for a season, with a 99.3% rate in 2010-11. The Anaheim Ducks have long struggled to fill their arena, as have the New Jersey Devils.

It stinks that it has to come to this, but even if things do work out and the Coyotes are saved in Phoenix, it's still going to be an incredibly difficult task to make the business a winner, even if the team on the ice is. "Stuff's gonna happen" is the Bettman quote that will be remembered from his press conference on Wednesday.

The commissioner also had a few other statements worth noting.

On a deal to send NHL players to the Olympics not yet being reached: "The Players Association probably has more open issues than we do."

— And with that, the Gary Bettman Days Without Blaming Things On The Union counter goes back to zero.

On player safety: "On a per-game basis, concussions were actually down slightly (this season). The work that the concussion working group is doing —which is a joint effort with the Players Association, and the league, and physicians, and trainers — to continue to educate, to continue to monitor, to continue to make sure appropriate decisions are being made with diagnosis and treatment, is an ongoing effort. Medical science is continuing to evolve because nobody has all the answers yet. This is an area that is vitally important and we are devoting a great deal of energy and resources to it."

—The Department of Player Safety takes a lot of heat because of Brendan Shanahan's controversial disciplinary decisions, but there really has been a difference made in the way safety is viewed, and especially concussions. The work that the league and NHLPA continue to do with equipment companies to make the game safer is admirable.

On whether a decision has been reached for new division names for next season after realignment: "We have, but we're not going to announce it yet. We've decided on names and all those things. At some point, after the Stanley Cup final is over ... we'll announce it."

— Helpful hint: If you've already decided on geographically-based names, think again and name the four divisions after legends of the game. Otherwise, we're going to call them Patrick Plus, Flortheast, #ConferenceIII, and The Other One.

On officiating in the playoffs: "The officials in this league are the best in the world, I believe, not just in hockey, but in any sport. I believe they have the most difficult job ... and even more scrutiny this time of year."

— Bettman did not address whether he feels rules should be enforced to a different standard in the playoffs, only going on to say that people will complain about officiating whether penalties are called to the letter of the rulebook, or whether the refs "let them play" in tight games. He's right, but it would be nice to have an actual directive on how it's supposed to go.